Band

50 years have gone by since the days the juvenile Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs wandered the streets of Hannover, which was just awakening from post war paralysis, with a barrow carrying their instruments and amplifiers. In these 50 years, they have become Germany’s, or rather Continental Europe’s most successful rock band, the living proof that not only VW, Mercedes or BMW are able to compete internationally, but classic rock music made in Germany as well. Countless bands, including the Smashing Pumpkins as well as Green Day, Korn, System Of A Down or Queensryche have covered songs by the Scorpions throughout the years. “Rock You Like A Hurricane” on its own was covered over 150 times by different musicians.

Expressing a career like the one of the Scorpions in mere numbers is almost impossible. However, one number that should still be mentioned is more than 100 million records sold to date. This makes the Scorpions the most successful rock band of Continental Europe by far.

Below, there is a small – far from complete – selection of further milestones from fifty years of Scorpions history:

In Germany, the Scorpions have sold more than one million copies of “Crazy World” alone – and with this, in the rock genre easily draw even with Nirvana (Nevermind), AC/DC (Back In Black) or Guns‘N Roses (Use Your Illusion I). They deservedly received double platinum for it in 1991. Like in Switzerland and Canada as well, by the way. Additionally, “Sting In The Tail” (1991) and the single “Wind Of Change” (1991) were awarded platinum in Germany. Incidentally, the latter was No.1 in seven countries! The complete inventory of worldwide gold awards is simply too extensive to be listed here.

However, countless silver, gold and platinum awards are only one side of the Scorpions’ history. Another is their unabated desire to travel. No other rock band of their caliber after so many years takes to the stage as often as the Hannover natives. They have played thousands of concerts in all corners of the planet: in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Moscow, Washington, Dubai, Paris or Berlin.

In 1988, they were the first Western rock band to play sold-­‐out shows five days in a row in the then still Soviet Leningrad. Pioneering achievements elsewhere as well: through very early concerts in China and Southeast Asia, they have opened doors for many other Western bands.

They’ve swept the board big time in Brazil in 1985 at the legendary “Rock in Rio” festival, when other German bands could at best dream of foreign countries. The performance is documented on the epochal live album “World Wide Live”, which was the band’s final breakthrough in the US, for all time cementing their reputation as one of the planet’s hottest live bands.

And then there was the 1989 “Moscow Music Peace” festival, where the Scorpions ultimately conquered Russia, inspiring Klaus Meine to write the track that not much later became the theme song to the Iron Curtain’s final fall: “Wind of Change”.

There were many magic live moments; some of them are captured on live albums, others on film and video recordings. These are the moments, which have cemented the Scorpions’ reputation as one of the rare bands rising far above the crowd.

The Scorpions in 1965

1965

Like many youngsters born in post-war Germany, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were influenced by the music and other life-enhancing delights imported into their homeland by American GI’s – Elvis Presley, chewing gum, blue jeans and leather jackets, but most of all rock ‘n’ roll. From an early age, both of them had an irresistible urge to grab a guitar and step into the limelight. In the early 1960s the Beatles sparked off the beat revolution. By the mid-1960s Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, both of whom were blessed with understanding parents, had also taken to the stage with their beat groups. In 1965 Rudolf Schenker started up the SCORPIONS in Hanover. Rudolf’s younger brother Michael Schenker was, like Matthias Jabs, smitten by beat music and the burgeoning rock culture. Guitarist and songwriter Rudolf Schenker’s earliest influences were the raw riffs of bands like The Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth, who in those days were regarded as the real hard rockers. At New Year 1970, the younger Schenker brother Michael, who despite his youth had already established himself as an outstanding guitarist, left the Hanover-based group Copernicus, along with singer and composer Klaus Meine, to join Rudolf Schenker’s SCORPIONS. Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine teamed up to form the accomplished Schenker/Meine songwriting duo, so laying the foundations for a spectacular success story.

1972

In 1972, the SCORPIONS released their remarkable debut album, Lonesome Crow, produced by Conny Plank in Hamburg. The vocal and instrumental ingredients which over the years were to develop into the typical, unmistakable SCORPIONS sound, were already recognisable: uncompromising, guitar-orientated hard rock, on the lines of what Jimmy Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin generated in the mid-1960s. The distinctive SCORPIONS style came from the combination of two electric guitars, a fusion of fabulously forceful power riffs with dazzlingly exuberant guitar solos. Added to which was the instantly recognisable voice of singer and front man Klaus Meine with his highly expressive and polished delivery. In one respect, the SCORPIONS were unique on the German rock scene of the period. Because, right from the start, the band was aiming for the very top of the international hard rock business, Klaus Meine wrote all his lyrics in English. In the creative partnership of Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine Germany had finally found its answer to the famous beat and rock composing teams of the English-speaking world. The first album Lonesome Crow set the band on the path to international success. The SCORPIONS toured as support band with Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep and UFO. Throughout their history Rudolf Schenker has been the unshakeable driving force behind the SCORPIONS. He adopted his father’s philosophy of life – nothing is impossible as long as you believe in it. Right from the foundation of the SCORPIONS, he had only one declared ambition: "one day the SCORPIONS will be one of the best heavy rock bands in the world!" It was an idea to which all the band members were committed. The SCORPIONS were constantly on the lookout for fresh challenges. Every change in the line-up was seen as an opportunity to move closer still to success and the achievement of absolute professionalism.

1974

In 1973, following a joint tour with UFO, Michael Schenker joined the British rock group. He was replaced as SCORPIONS lead guitarist by Ulrich Roth. He too was an exceptional guitar player with an almost mystical talent. With Ulrich Roth, the SCORPIONS continued unwaveringly to explore the hard rock genre. In the 1970s, the SCORPIONS undertook tours of Western Europe, playing countless venues and conquering one country after another. They would appear wherever there was somewhere to plug in their instruments. In 1973, they accompanied The Sweet on their first European tour. The SCORPIONS went on to record their next four studio albums with Ulrich Roth. Fly to the Rainbow, (1974) features a solid, high-energy brand of heavy rock never before heard from a German band. The title track Speedy’s Coming typifies the SCORPIONS style of ultra-hard rock combined with catchy melodies. Beginning with their third LP In Trance, (1975), they began their working relationship with well-known international producer Dieter Dierks. They were firmly launched on their hard rock career. In Trance was the best-selling RCA album in Japan, where a regular SCORPION mania broke out. In 1975 the SCORPIONS toured Europe, sharing top billing with KISS.

1975

In Germany that same year, they were voted best live group. During their first UK tour in 1975, the SCORPIONS entered what might be called "the lion’s den", playing at Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club. In the birthplace of hard rock, they succeeded in gaining the acceptance of the most dyed-in-the-wool British fans. Gigs at the renowned London venue, the Marquee, were further highpoints of the mid-1970s. The SCORPIONS achieved their ambition to be the top German hard rock band, when their fourth album Virgin Killer (1976) won the "LP of the Year" award in Germany. In Japan, Virgin Killer gained them their first Gold Disc. Their follow-up album Taken by Force (1977) was also awarded a Japanese Gold Disc. In 1978 the SCORPIONS toured Japan, the world’s second largest music market, where they got a foretaste of what it was like to be superstars. When they arrived at Tokyo airport, the five heavy metal men were mobbed by adoring fans. Ulrich Roth left the band after the 1978 Japanese tour.

Japan

1978

The highpoint and conclusion of the SCORPIONS’ Ulrich Roth period is the double album Tokyo Tapes (1978) which even now is cherished around the world as a collector’s item. Michael Schenker filled in briefly (he recorded several songs on Lovedrive (1979) until Matthias Jabs finally entered the fray. In 1978 an advertisement appeared in the Melody Maker: the SCORPIONS were looking for a new lead guitarist. In London, they auditioned 140 hopefuls, before deciding on Hanover-born Matthias Jabs. Thrown in at the deep end, Matthias Jabs immediately joined the band in recording Lovedrive (1979) which was then in production. The album was to be the group’s biggest triumph so far, and is still one the SCORPIONS’ best-ever albums. The sleeve received a prize for the best artwork of the year. In 1979, Michael Schenker rejoined the SCORPIONS for a short spell, but left the band while on tour. In 1980, he founded MSG, the Michael Schenker Group. Matthias Jabs once again leapt into the breach and achieved the amazing feat of learning, literally overnight, the entire programme for the current tour. In Matthias Jabs, the SCORPIONS had finally found the lead guitarist whose creativity, virtuosity and enthusiasm continue to make a decisive contribution to the band’s success. With him, the band achieved an even more solid sound. Like the missing piece in the jigsaw, his guitar style fitted to perfection into the group dynamic, creating the unique SCORPIONS sound. Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs still form the musical backbone of the band. With bass man Francis Buchholz (who joined the SCORPIONS in 1973 at the same time as Ulrich Roth) anddrummer Herman Rarebell (who first featured on Taken By Force in 1977), they finally established the combination that was to continue its victorious progress across the globe right up until Wind of Change. Already hailed as a super group during the 1978 tour of Japan, in 1979 the band, comprising Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, set out to conquer the vast US market. Their weapons: a professional attitude paired with a steely determination to succeed and a philosophy of friendship, both within the band and towards their fans, as well as great musicality. As a rock band working on the international scene, the SCORPIONS had long since created their own musical identity. In the 1980s, the built up a considerable following in the States. Van Halen launched their musical career in the mid-1970s with cover versions of SCORPIONS songs: Speedy’s Coming (from Fly to the Rainbow) and Catch Your Train (from Virgin Killer).USA was the biggest market of all for hard and heavy rock.

1979

Since 1974, the SCORPIONS had In 1979, now professionally managed and boosted by the success of Lovedrive, the SCORPIONS with their definitive line-up – Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs – embarked on their first major tour of USA rock arenas as opening act with Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and AC/DC. In Chicago, the SCORPIONS swapped the headliner billing with Ted Nugent, since the SCORPIONS had more fans in the city. On this first American tour, the SCORPIONS quickly learned the rules of the game in the international rock business.

Fans at the Hotel in Japan 1978

1979

Their seventh album LOVEDRIVE was released in the USA in 1979, and was the first SCORPIONS production to receive a Gold Disc there. ANIMAL MAGNETISM followed in 1980. With the two albums, the band finally made their North American breakthrough. On their second US tour the SCORPIONS were top of the bill. The era of SCORPIONS monster tours had begun. After more successful world tours, in 1981, while recording BLACKOUT, Klaus Meine lost his voice. Not wishing to stand in the way of the band’s success, Klaus Meine wanted to pull out.

1982

But the unshakeable friendship between Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine and the close and supportive relationship within the band allowed the seemingly impossible to happen. After lengthy vocal retraining and two operations on his vocal chords, Klaus Meine overcame the trauma. And that was not all: in 1982, he re-emerged with a much increased vocal range. One critic wrote: "They have given Klaus Meine metal vocal chords." The band’s decision to stand by their lead singer through this troubled time later proved to be the most crucial the SCORPIONS ever took in the their entire career. It was Klaus Meine who in 1989 composed their smash hit Wind of Change. In 1982, on their second US tour as headliners with Iron Maiden as support act, the SCORPIONS promoted their groundbreaking album BLACKOUT, with Helnwein’s stunning sleeve design. The single "No One Like You" and the BLACKOUT LP reached the US Top Ten, the LP was voted Best Hard Rock Album of the year and awarded a Platinum Disc. One hit followed another, and in the 1980s the SCORPIONS captured the hearts of hard rock fans around the world.

Blackout Tour

1984

In 1984 the SCORPIONS became the first German hard rock band to play three successive gigs in front of 60,000 fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The SCORPIONS had finally scaled the Mount Olympus of rock. With three albums featuring simultaneously in the US charts: ANIMAL MAGNETISM (1980), BLACKOUT, (1982) and LOVE AT FIRST STING (1984), the SCORPIONS spent two years on the road playing as headliner or co-headliner at all the big rock festivals that sprang up around the world after Woodstock. The SCORPIONS toured the globe, with a fleet of articulated lorries, Nightliner buses, helicopters, private jets and the inevitable limos. Hanover’s heavy metal band played all the main rock venues in North, Central and South America and Europe. In Asia, they played in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. This was the golden age of heavy rock. With gigantic stage and light shows and dramatic firework effects, the SCORPIONS unleashed a pyrotechnic display of sound and light. Their relentless energy sent the fans wild. To US audiences, the SCORPIONS, with their polished, hard-edged "melodic rock" and Klaus Meine’s dramatic power singing with its dizzying top notes, came to epitomise the best in heavy rock. Groups like BON JOVI, METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN and DEF LEPPARD, later to become mega bands, were support acts on the SCORPIONS’ worldwide tours, learning what it meant for a band to hold its own in the rock arena in front of an audience of millions. LOVE AT FIRST STING became one of the most successful albums in rock history. It includes the SCORPIONS’ most electrifying numbers "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Bad Boys Running Wild", and the masterpiece "Still Loving You". The critics struggled for superlatives. Rolling Stone called the SCOPRIONS "the heroes of heavy metal". The SCORPIONS were admitted to the exclusive club of the world’s 30 greatest rock groups. Their ballad "Still Loving You" became an international rock anthem. In France alone, the single sold 1.7 million copies. The song unleashed a wave of hysteria among French fans not seen since the Beatles and became the SCORPIONS’ musical trademark around the globe.

World Wide Live tour crew

1985

The SCORPIONS’ most memorable appearances as headliners were at the 1983 US FESTIVAL in California’s San Bernadino Valley in front of an audience of 325,000 and at the first Rock in Rio in 1985 where they were cheered by 350,000 enthusiastic South American SCORPIONS fans. The 1985 double album WORLD WIDE LIVE, a counterpart to the 1978 TOKYO TAPES, impressively documented the band’s more recent international triumphs. In 1986, the SCORPIONS topped the bill at the legendary MONSTERS OF ROCK Festival and played in the Hungarian capital Budapest, their first-ever appearance in an Eastern Block country. By now the SCORPIONS were a household name, with hard rock hits like "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "No One Like You", "Blackout", "Big City Nights", "Dynamite", "Bad Boys Running Wild", "Coast to Coast" and "The Zoo" featuring in the charts around the world. In the 1980s, the SCORPIONS created a kind of modern hard rock that is just as popular today. Their authentic power rock ballads, such as "Still Loving You", "Holiday" and later "Wind of Change", "Send Me an Angel", "When You Came Into My Life" and "You and I", along with acoustic based songs such as "Always Somewhere" and "When the Smoke is Going Down" have managed to win over even the most unyielding haters of hard rock.

Moscow 1989

1990

SAVAGE AMUSEMENT, the last album co-produced with Dieter Dierks, was released in 1988. It reached # 3 in the U.S. chart and #1 in Europe. Even after years of touring the USA and the rest of the world, the SCORPIONS did not rest on their laurels and continued to seek out fresh challenges. As a prelude to their 1988 Savage Amusement world tour, they penetrated the Iron Curtain to give 10 sell-out concerts in Leningrad for 350,000 Soviet fans. They were the first international hard rock band to play in the former USSR, cradle of Communism. Hard rock, heavy metal and especially the SCORPIONS’ ballad "Still Loving You" had already found their way through the Iron Curtain. The SCORPIONS are still given a rapturous reception in Russia today. A year later, in August 1989, 20 years after Woodstock, the Soviet authorities, encouraged by the success of the SCORPIONS’ 1988 Leningrad concert, gave permission for the legendary Moscow Music Peace Festival. Here, the SCORPIONS shared the stage with other international hard rock acts, including BON JOVI, MOTLEY CRüE, SKID ROW, CINDERELLA and OZZY OSBOURNE and the Russian band GORKY PARK playing to 260,000 Soviet rock fans in Moscow’s Lenin Stadium. In September 1989 Klaus Meine drew on his impressions of the Moscow Music Peace Festival, to create the SCORPIONS’ smash hit "Wind of Change". Then, in November 1989, came a completely unexpected event. The fall of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the world, "Wind of Change" became the hymn to glasnost and perestroika, providing the soundtrack to the opening of the Iron Curtain, the fall of Communism and the end of the Cold War. One year later, in 1990, the SCORPIONS played in Potsdamer Platz where a section of the Wall once stood, in Roger Waters’s spectacular production, The Wall. The SCORPIONS recorded a Russian version of "Wind of Change". They also gained a distinguished fan. In 1991, the members of the German band were invited to the Kremlin to meet Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet head of state and party leader. It was a unique event in the history of the USSR and rock music.

1991

For the SCORPIONS too, the wind of change continued to blow. Before the production and release of their worldwide mega seller CRAZY WORLD (1990), their long relationship with Dieter Dierks, the Cologne-based producer of so many successful recordings, came to an end. The very first album to be produced by the SCORPIONS themselves, CRAZY WORLD, made in Los Angeles, co-produced by Keith Olsen and featuring the smash hit "Wind of Change", immediately became the most successful album to date. Not only was CRAZY WORLD the most successful album, "Wind of Change" was the worldwide top single of 1991, occupying the #1 slot in 11 countries. In 1992, they received the World Music Award as the most successful German rock act. CRAZY WORLD is impressive testimony to the songwriting talents of the SCORPIONS’ masterminds: Matthias Jabs’s contribution is the dynamic title track "Tease Me, Please Me", while Rudolf Schenker once again proves his ability to hit the spot with his classic SCORPIONS ballad, "Send Me an Angel", and Klaus Meine displays his brilliance as a composer in "Wind of Change". At the end of the 1992 CRAZY WORLD tour, the SCORPIONS and their long-time bass player Francis Buchholz parted company. The 1993 album FACE THE HEAT (co-producer: Bruce Fairbairn), featured the band’s new bass man, conservatoire graduate Ralph Rieckermann. In 1994 the SCORPIONS again received a World Music Award. Yet another high point of their career came when, at the invitation of the family of the "King of Rock ‘n’ Roll", Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley, and the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson, they performed their cover version of His Latest Flame at the 1994 Elvis Presley Memorial Concert in Memphis, Tennessee. In the same year the SCORPIONS committed themselves to helping United Nations efforts on behalf of refugees from the civil war in Rwanda. In only one week the band produced and released their benefit single "White Dove". At the end of 1995, just before completing the PURE INSTINCT album, co-produced by Keith Olsen and Erwin Musper and released in 1996, the SCORPIONS’ veteran drummer and long-time companion Herman "The German" Rarebell left the band. During the 1988 SAVAGE AMUSEMENT tour, the US heavy metal band KINGDOM COME, whose producer was Keith Olsen, had been a warm up act for the SCORPIONS. Even then, the Germans were impressed by the style of the group’s Californian drummer James Kottak.

1996

In 1995 the SCORPIONS engaged former AC/DC manager Stewart Young, and it fell to him to call James Kottak on the phone and hire him as drummer for the upcoming 1996/97 Pure Instinct Live Tour. James Kottak became the first American to play in the German rock band. With the two new members, bass player Ralph Rieckermann and drummer James Kottak, the SCORPIONS had introduced a new generation of musicians into the group. On the Pure Instinct world tour, the SCORPIONS proved that they were still among the global players on the international rock scene. Not only did they play in Europe, the USA and South America. In countries like Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, they continued to notch up well above average record sales and collect gold and platinum discs. In November 1996, the SCORPIONS were the first international hard rock band to play to fans in Beirut after the end of the civil war in Lebanon. On the 1999 recording of Eye to Eye, produced by Peter Wolf, James Kottak worked in the studio with the SCORPIONS for the first time. The cover of Eye to Eye marked a change of image for the SCORPIONS. Only the founder members of the band, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine and Matthias Jabs feature on the front cover. The album itself is a statement of the SCORPIONS’ awesome talents as songwriters and instrumentalists. Songs like Mysterious, Mind Like a Tree, Eye to Eye, Yellow Butterfly and A Moment in a Million Years show the band at the pinnacle of their creativity. With Du Bist So Schmutzig (You’re So Dirty), the SCORPIONS are heard for the first time singing a German lyric. As part of their 1999 Eye to Eye world tour, at the invitation of Michael Jackson, they played at the Michael Jackson and Friends benefit concert in Munich. True to their motto "Don’t stop at the top" the SCORPIONS are starting the new millennium with a new musical challenge: a crossover project with the internationally renowned classical orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, once conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan. - See more at: http://www.scorpions.band/english/history.asp#sthash.1TBC6Kf6.dpuf

With the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 2000

2000

In January 2000, the SCORPIONS and Christian Kolonovits began studio recordings in Vienna. The Berlin Philharmonic recorded the orchestral parts in April 2000. The complete work was mixed during April and May 2000 at the Galaxy Studios in Belgium, using the state-of-the-art Surround System Atmos 5.1. The crossover CD Moment of Glory, featuring the SCORPIONS with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, was released on 19 June 2000. The first live performance took place at EXPO in Hanover on 22 June 2000. The album also includes the official EXPO anthem "Moment of Glory".

2004

With their uncompromising rock album UNBREAKABLE the SCORPIONS have unequivocally sounded their return in 2004 to the worldwide hard ’n’ heavy music arena. UNBREAKABLE is a concept album in a very special sense. It symbolises the indestructibility of the basic musical coordinates of the SCORPIONS. The unique power triad of outstanding musical figures: singer-songwriter Klaus Meine, guitarist and composer Rudolf Schenker and lead guitarist and composer Matthias Jabs. UNBREAKABLE, the twentieth SCORPIONS album, is the quintessence of thirty-five years of SCORPIONS history. And at the same time it marks the re-commitment of Germany’s internationally most successful hard rock export to their essential strengths. “First and foremost we are a rock band,” says Klaus Meine, leaving no room for doubt. “Our fans expect to really feel the lethal sting of the SCORPIONS. So with UNBREAKABLE we’ve recorded a typical SCORPIONS album.” Seconded by Rudolf Schenker: “After side projects like Moment Of Glory and Acoustica we owed our fans a kick-ass, bad-to-the-bone rock CD.” Rudolf Schenker sees UNBREAKABLE as building a bridge between the SCORPIONS and their fans. “It’s an album that brings the old and the new generation of SCORPIONS fans together.

Matthias Jabs sums it up: “With the new album we’ve returned to what the SCORPIONS are really all about. Hand-made rock music. Pick up the instruments, plug them in, play,” is how he describes the highly successful three months spent working in the studio with producer Erwin Musper. “The band together in one room for the basic tracks - back to the roots but in the contemporary rock sound of 2004. And at the same time we’ve reshaped our live set with the new songs.” Erwin Musper, who as producer and sound engineer knows the SCORPIONS better than anyone else, goes even further: “The SCORPIONS have set a new standard with UNBREAKABLE. It’s the best material the SCORPIONS have written in the last five years. Any rock band setting out to record a new album, should have UNBREAKABLE as a reference in their sound library.” Erwin Musper knows what he’s talking about. Born in The Netherlands, he’s been working with the SCORPIONS as producer and engineer since 1988. In addition, he has worked in the USA for many years as producer for bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. SCORPIONS drummer/composer, James Kottak, is up front about it: “UNBREAKABLE is the best record ever from Germany’s No. 1 rock machine.” With UNBREAKABLE 2004 Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs are going onto the musical offensive with a typical SCORPIONS coup: Pawel Maciwoda is the new bass player of Germany’s globally most successful rock act. This new band member is another signal that there’s no going back for the SCORPIONS.

Together with drummer James Kottak, this hard rock bass player, steeled in the New York professional scene, represents a pressure build-up in the SCORPIONS’ now outstanding rhythm’n’groove section. UNBREAKABLE symbolises the musical and personal identity that has characterised the SCORPIONS for over thirty-five years and accounted for their lasting worldwide success. All this has ensured that the SCORPIONS are the only German band to have unswervingly pursued an international career for over thirty-five years. “We’ve often been through hell, to experience heaven. We’ve always had faith in ourselves and have never accepted limitations for ourselves,” is how Rudolf Schenker sums it up. “Doing a world tour and seeing how people respond to the music and are carried away by it,” is for Rudolf Schenker simply “the best there is.” An “adventure” that he “wouldn’t miss for the world.” For SCORPIONS vocalist Klaus Meine it’s “a fascinating experience, again and again, to contribute towards a peaceful world through the global language of music. To show that music is a language that crosses frontiers and overcomes differences.” The outstanding date in this respect was the concert the SCORPIONS – from Germany – gave in 2002 in Volgograd. For these musicians, born in post-war Germany between 1948 and 1955, it was a deeply felt contribution towards atonement. What’s important for Matthias Jabs is to make “music that’s enduring” and that embodies the identity of the SCORPIONS. Over time and up there in front of the fans. Music that satisfies the band’s own musical needs and those of their audiences. Music, above all, that stands the test of a live concert – in the full exposure of the spotlights, “where you can’t hide anything.” In 2004 Klaus Meine gives this summary of the impressive history of the SCORPIONS: “There’ll never be any substitute for live concerts with real music and real feelings.” It’s a statement from the heart that also looks forward into the future. And UNBREAKABLE is the musical statement of now from Germany’s only global band.

Comeblack

2011

On 3 October 2011,the compilation album COMEBLACK was announced.

Released after the successful 2010's STING IN THE TAIL, COMEBLACK features re-recorded versions of SCORPIONS classic songs as well as cover versions of 1960s and early 1970s popular rock songs.

The global release date was 4 November and a North American release date of 24 January 2012.

MTV Unplugged - Scorpions Live In Athens

2013

On 11th, 12th and 14th of September 2013, the SCORPIONS played three concerts in Athens, Greece under the banner "MTV Unplugged - Scorpions Live In Athens" at the Lycabettus Theatre over the roofs of the ancient city. For the first time in the history of the "MTV Unplugged" series, a concert in Greece under the open sky took place.

The CD, Blu-Ray, and DVD was released on 29 November 2013.

Return To Forever

2015

SCORPIONS RETURN TO FOREVER celebrating 50 years!

Celebrating a half-century of rock with the release of their 19th studio album, RETURN TO FOREVER (Sony Music/Legacy Recordings), globally on 20 February 2015 (North America release on 11 September 2015) with the first single and video "We Build This House".

On 11 December 2014 the band announced their global 50th anniversary tour which kicked off in China on 1st May and runs through spring 2016.

On 25 February the Scorpion announce a 16 date North American tour kicking off in Boston on 10 September.

So the band once again met up with their two favorite Swedes to realize a project, which initially had been
intended to be rather plain. Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen had already produced “Sting In The
Tail”, and re-arranged the whole material for “MTV Unplugged” together with Matthias Jabs.
“Actually, we only wanted to finally record some song ideas for the fans, which we had worked on in the
past but never put on an album, and then release them without much fanfare”, Matthias Jabs remembers.
“There had been quite a few over the years, ideas that were really good, but in the end didn’t make the cut
back then due to the limited space on vinyl and later on CD. We quickly had eight songs, which partly had
to be finalized first and were then recorded from scratch. During the work, increasingly new song ideas
were added from our end, as well as from the two Swedes. We had so much fun working and suddenly we
found ourselves in the middle of the songwriting process once again. And in the end, it turned out to be a
brand-new Scorpions album after all.”

The fact that the fiftieth band anniversary was coming up as well, hit Rudolf rather accidentally: “Not long
ago I found an old cash account book of my mom’s, in which she meticulously recorded the earnings and
expenses of my band Scorpions fifty years ago. My parents had lent me the money for the first equipment
back then, and it had to paid off in installments from the earnings. 50 years are a long time. Apart from us,
at most the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys or The Who managed to do that. In that sense, the timing for
the new album is perfect, we’re celebrating half a decade of Scorpions with the record and the upcoming
tour.”